Conveyer structure



AP 17 1945 P. R. PowELL coNvEYER STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 12, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Pgzuz Lap/ZL April 17,1945.

P, R. PCwELL c'oNvEYER STRUCTURE Filed sept.' 12, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 AP 17, 1945- P. R, POWELL CONVEYER STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 12. 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 AP 17, 1945. P. R. POWELL" corw'mzr STRUCTURE Filed sept. 12. 1941 6 Sheets-*Sheet 4 April 17, 1945. P. R. POWELL CONVEYER STRUCTURE Filed sept. 12, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 7. m w 3 mw M l@ J Bau'ZlLBov/ell,

April 17, 1945. P. R. POWELL 2,374,131

' coNvEYER STRUCTURE Filed sept. 12,1941 e sheets-sheet e SLL@ wuam/tma: v

Patented Apr.' 17, 1945 "UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlc-is Md., "a "corporation fof New' York :Applicationseptember 12, 194i, Seriana-4.10pm

(ones-icm K The present invention lrelates to a. conveyer structurev.and,.more particularly, to .a structure adapted tol clamp .arti-cles such as containersin a fixed position upon a. .conveyer while they are moving past .a mechanism which performs operations upon the articles, forv example, a labeling mechanism.

' nimportant object o'f the invention is fto p'rovide a mechanism for holding v,articles lagainst tilting amovement with respect-,toa 'conveyer without interfering with the advancingnrovement o'f the article or its 'delivery and removall with respect to Vthefconvey'fer.

11T-applying labels 'to containers, or in kperforming other operations upon-"various arti-cles', "it "is desiratile to -suppo'rt'the articles uponfa rnov-ing "cdnve'yer while fthe operation iis -be'in'g' performed, 'since the movement of the articles through th-e Vap'params' can thereby be expedited. v'However,

them. Furthermore, such 'an arrangement is' not 'at =allf practical with circular articles. vsuc'h as fbottlesbe'cause their contact with the 'xed plate vw'lflille 'movin'gwith the conveyer may cause- A'them .to Yroll and this interferes with label applying andlother operations.

- Another expedient has been to provide the/sup'- labeling machine provided with` the conveyer mechanism of. .the present invention; v

Figure 2is'a vertical longitudinal sectional 'view .Figure 3- is 'a planview showing :the upper por- .tion of the lconveyer :struct-ureof :Figure 2.;

.Figure 4 is a `horizontal longitudinal. sectional view onthe'fline r tf-lt tof Figure-2;

Figure-5y lis a longitudinal vertical-sectionalview .on fthe vline 5-5 of AFigure 3 andishowin'g v.the up lperportionpf the .latter figure;

y Figure 6 ,is a .horizontal sectional view :on .the angled line 6 6 of Figure 5, theviewomi-tting certain elements for the purpose of iclarity;

Figure `7 .is va vertical .sectional view -of .-a lclamp .ing .headused on the .upper '.or clampingvelement;

,Figure 9 v.is a horizontal -`sec-tional view onithe 'line 9-'9 Lo'f Figure 8.;

n Figure '10.is .a transverse vertical Jsection-al view 'on lthe .'line ,'IU--l l)y lof .Fig-ure A2, and

.I'heeon's'truct'ion `arid-operation of the present mechanism may be generally described-.as follows: The .numeral l0 ,generally designates .a .labeling machine of fthe type disclosed inlmy .patent for porting conveyer Iwith Spock'e'tei l*elenl'ents which will substantially enclose `the articles.` "However,

' :suon amLogementsy :interfere witn- :lab-eling vand Labeling ymachine No., 22841119, issued vMay 26, i942',v .and which'isjprovidedwth a container sup porting .conveyer' Tl. Containers tobellabeled are delivered toithe mach-ine TID .',upon .aninfeed /conveyer i2' as linidicaiied in vFigure i and move "through a vgate 'mechanism 'f3' toward lthe con.. 'Veyer 'III. As bests'hown in 'Figure '2, a clamp- 'carrying chain "o'r endless .element 'Il is provided -above'the supporting .conveyer '|`l element f4 `preferably v'lying in "a 4horizontal plane while (supporting f'conveye'r l I .preferably lies 'in a vertical plane; 4 "Suptrortingconvever `I'I lisprovideii with spaced container supports "f5 while, as indicated `in Figures t vand i'5, 'clamp-carrying element jl'a includes downwardlyurge'd clamping .heads T6 whichi as vshown'in Figure "2; ares'o spaced that 'they' may movef'in vertical alignment' with 'the containersupports l5.. a

'Thechain 1M moves 'on sprocket wheels I1 `and Il-'8l, the 'former l(liigure's5v-and 61) 'being at .the

infeed end of themaciiine. Sprocket wheel T1 "has moving therewith pivoted and vertically swingingclamp-lift elements or arms i9 which 'move' with :the 'sprocket Wheel' .and have their vertical 'position controlled 'by a .'xed .arcuate -vcam;t'racli '2'0 *to thereby )deter-mine the vertical positron of 'the damping element 'i6 which is veyer I 2.

then moving in alignment therewith. Cam track 2U is of such design that at the time a container is moving onto the supporting conveyer II through gate mechanism I3, the clamp I6 generally vertically aligned therewith will be raised, but as soon as the container is standing upon the proper container support I5, the clamp will be permitted to descend to engage the top of the container. f

Each clamp I 6 will remain lowered while an operation such as labeling is performed upon the article engaged thereby and until the article reaches the outfeed end of the machine, when it will be raised by one of a series of pivoted lifting elements I9a (Figures 8 andv9) associated lwith the sprocket wheel I8 at the outfeed end of the machine and which elements are controlled by a cam track 20a. After the clamp is lifted, the container or other article will move from the supporting conveyer II to a suitable outfeed means. i Y

Labeling apparatus is usually positioned in a production line with a llingv machine and it is frequently desired to have some runs of containers moved to the crating point from the filling machine without having labels applied thereto. The present conveyer structure includes a by-pass conveyer 25 (Figure 4) extending parallel with supporting conveyer 'I I, but beyond the path of the overhead clamp-carrying chain I4, and to which containers may be delivered by the infeed conveyer I2 if it is not desired to apply labels to the containers.

The conveyers Il and 25 move upon a table structure' generally indicated by the numeral 26V and which may form a portion of the labeling apparatus I or other operation performing mechanism.

The infeed gate mechanism I3'serves to control the movement of bottles o'rother articles from the infeed conveyer l2 to the supporting conveyer II and to so regulate such movement that the bottles will be placed upon the article supporting elements I of the conveyer l I, regardless of the spacing of the bottles upon the infeed conveyer I2.

Referring to Figure 4, thenumeral 3| designates-a vertical shaft journalled in the table structure 26 of the apparatusdirectly opposite the inner end of the infeed conveyer I2 as is also indicated in Figure 4. Shaft 31|`` is Vcontinuously rotated and carries a dial 32 which, in the present instance, is provided with two pockets 33 adapted to engage bottles presented iby the infeed con- Below the dial 32, shaft 3l has xed thereto a cam 34 which is engaged by a roller at the end of a lateral extension 35 of a pusher or gate arm 36. The gate or pusher arm 36 is pivoted on a vertical pin 31 positioned alongside ,the outer edge of the by-passconveyer so that the arm normally extends across the by-pass conveyer as shown in Figure 4. A coil spring, not shown, is connected to arm 36 to urge it to the right in Figure 4, the direction in which it Willmove bottles, and also holds a roller at the inner end of its projection in engagement with the cam 34. A roller 39 isjournalled at the inner and free end of arm 36.

Infeed dial 32 rotates in a counter-clockwise left of the position shown in Figure 4 so as to momentarily provide a clear path of movement for the container. Then, as the bottle passes, arm 3B will swing to the right toward the position illustrated in Figure 4 to urge the bottle (moving with conveyer I2) toward the moving dial pocket and also to come between that bottle or other container and any succeeding container. Thus, the arm 33 will serve to urgethe rst container into a proper position in the dial pocket. Pusher arm 33 cooperates with a guide arm 48 in this operation. Arm 36 will also urge the container in the direction in which the dial is to move it.

After the above movement, arm 36 will be swung back to position 39a by a rise on cam 34 to enable direction as indicated by the arrow A in Figure 4,

Figure 4, the roller 33 of arm 35 willbe to the the succeeding container to be moved toward the next dial pocket at the proper instant.

In order'that a container moving with the dial 32 will be retained in a dial pocket and moved along an arcuate path, the guide arm 40 is arranged alongside of and opposite the dial 32. Arm 40 is pivoted on a pin 4I, the pin being iixed in a housing 42 positioned alongside the path of infeed conveyer I2. It will be observed that the pivot point of guide arm 40 is at the extreme left hand portion of the arm and that the arm furthermore includes a straight 'vertical face 43 which leads to the arcuate portion 44 of the guide arm.

The operation of the guide arm 40 in cooperation with pusher arm 36 is as follows: v

A container moving on infeed conveyer I2 and roller 39 of pusher arm 3E may come into the relative positions shown in Figure 4. In this position the diameter of the bottle Will extend directly between the corner 43h of guide arm 40 and the axis of roller 33. Hence, the right-hand swinging movement of arm 39 will urge the bottle directly toward corner 43h instead of sweeping it into the pocket of dial (l2.v However, because guide arm 40 is pivoted, it will swing in a clockwise direction in Figure 4 so that the bottle will ride along the arm 40 andy into4 a dial pocket. l

It will be noted from they above that pusher larmvii and guide arm 4U co-act to direct bottles into dial 32 and that pusher arm 36, byvitsinward movement, also acts as a means to hold back following bottles. That is, because guide arm 40 is mounted for swinging movement Ito enable bottles to move obliquely and forwardly under direct inward pressurek of pusher arm 35, it will be almost impossible for bottles to be come jammed. e,

In the event bottles arevnot to be operated upon by the apparatusY I0, the pusher arm 36 may be disconnected and replaced by elements to divert articles to by-pass conveyer 25.

As shown in Figure 7, the housing '42 and opposed housing 4a which serve t0 guide articles on conveyer I2 may have their relative positions adjusted to handle articles of different sizes lby operation of a shaft 80. g

The supporting lconveyer' II is' formed of a series of pivotally connected links |00 which are of U-shaped form in transverse section'as'best shown in Figure'lO so that the upper run'of. the conveyer Il will be skirted to prevent broken glass or other foreign matter from reachingA the link pivots or getting between the conveyer vand its supporting trackway |03 on table '26. Spaced 1links l lllare provided with the container; or

share weleens@ connected by a;

article, lSuillpllt- I1 g, A .elementsw I5 preferably ormed-,oiresilient material. Reierringnto Figure 2, 'thesupporting fconveyer .II .moves upon spacedsprocket drums .IIlI` and |02, .the 'former abeing at the infeed end of the machine. -l Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a motor |04 mounted; in the base-of ythe machine acts through .a belt .-or chain |05 to drive `a reduction uni-t |06, Unit |06 b y :a sprocket chain |01 extending longitudinally ofthemachine; drives a-sprocket wheel |08 fixed to the shaftdilzwhich carries :the Aconveyor chain drum |10-2;at. the:out feed endof the machine.

spiral vgear connection .I I0 to a vertical shaft H5-which ex.- tendsllpwardly through the table: of the machinewith its upper endextending 'through va top plate |20 (Figure 2) .supporteduponposts I2I and |22.- .Generally speaking, the top `plate .serves as the guideway .or trackway for the clamp-carrying element or .chain hlv andv therefore, as shown in Figure 3, extends the .ful-l length of the apparatus and.- has its end rounded to dene thetpath ofthe chain. The vclamp-carrying element 1.4 moves upon the sprocket wheels` I l -and I8 supported byvtop plate |20 as respectively indicated Figures 5 and 8.` As is hereinafter described,.:the clampcarry ir 1 g v element I4 as we1lxas. the 4top plate "|20 are vertically adjustable with lrespect .to the fsupporting conveyor .I.I. vso` thatl .bott-les `or otherfar-` ticles of different sizes may v be-handled .upon

the machine. 'As hereinafter: described. the' driveshaft `IIE for clampecarrying elementrlA has a slidable keyed connection with the'chain driving sprocket |8 illustrated in Figure .8

A s has been heretofore stated; :andas is illustrated ir 1 l'ig ur;esl 5 1l, the; clamp-carrying element I4 is providedl withspaced clamping. ele ments I 6 adaptedto bear upon the topuof a bottle orV other article toholdthe'latter. clamped upon the-supporting -conveyer Hand the clamps-.1| 6=are raised tlurir-igv their movement about the` sprocket wheel at.the infeed portion of the machine` in order topermit'containers to be' positionedy .beneath the clamps. Thisraising of theelam'ps I6 4is generally accomplished by means. of. .lift elements |9 best-shown. in: Figures 51and16 and which are pivoted atI in ahorzontalplane .to 'a casting or rotary element |3I associated with the sprock` sideimerely lt'odecrease its weight. A-lso. this element 4is tprovidedl with .flat vertical facesdla-nd lil) The .unper bracket I includesradially exe tending yarms I @t5 ewhich includedownward proj ectionsrlll to -supp'ort .the cam track( 2 0. The.;castingeor rotary element |3I. may be pro.- vided with a hollowed portionA Ii onj-itsundere I52. ;e xtending parallel toeachother and.'als o Parallel ftoz a diameter lof vthe element. .A '.horif zontal; -bore f|30-eXtendsfinvvardly from Aone end ofthe taceaISIand toward-the other face |152 and. this` bore receives;v apin ltt.integral with and forming apivot for `thealif-t element -I 9 which extends .alongside the face I5I.V ,Asis bestshown in Figure 6, `ea'cli lift .element I9 includes the above mentioned pin |54, a .bar portion Land a cam and clamp ,engaging portion '|56 .all scare ranged thatv each element I9 is. generally of y lt l f shaped form with the .pin ,|54 and ,portion|=5 6 `forming the leg-s of the U while thebar |55 vforms thebight. "Il'leeportion |156 is -of some. thickness in a1 vertical plane and is provided with; an upstanding horizontal boss |51 having a borev therethroughin which a pin |58 is mounted. Pin V|58 These shoulders |6`|- are; ltherefore arranged on thepitchdiameter .of the clamping .chain |4.

et Wheelxll Theposit-ion yof .the lift'elementsy I9 is controlled. bythe station-ary tendingabout-the'casting. |3l| i l :v More particularly, andas shown in- Figure l5,-

the end of top plate |20 adjacent the infeed end o ithemachine .carries a bracket |35* resting upon thewtopv plata-the bracket including 'bolts |36 which extend 'through slots.' |31 in' thel top -plate `I20- to 'support a lower. plate' member |38 against the underside ofV thevtop plate; lL'ower plate |38 includes a depending flan-ge in which is mounted the outer Aracef or an anti-friction assembly |39 and thisV assembly, .in turn, supports'the 'rotat-g i'ng element orcasting I'Elll to which the' sprocket wheel :n.ienxed; 3 I

. It wilijbeeteerved f're'm Figure 5 that a. pair of springs rI -4'2'are positioned beneath vthe top plate -I12-01'andloetween thplat'e'elenien't |38 and the adjacent," si'dejof' `supporting post .I ZI. These springsv serve to urge theentire assembly includingsproclfzei-l wheelfil to .theleftso as, to` hold tlij v 'clamp carrying element `|4 under propertene son n i `...1

`cam track |20y ex- It win beneted that theiift :elements is swing in a vertical plane with thepin `|54 as a pivot. The downward movement of each clamp element is limited by a=bottomplate l|63 Vsecured to tllezun derside of the rotary elem-ent I3|. Plate IIlin-f' cludesprojections |64 -uponrwhich the lowergedge of an element I9 will rest when it is free of cam 20 as indicated indotted lines at the lower :.right hand portion of Figure 5.

The casting I3| includes downward projections such .as |3| including vertical faces tog-uid'exthe lifts I9 intheir swingingl movement and prevent them from moving laterally. y The mounting of .the other lift element .IS-fof Figure will be apparent .from theabovedescrip.-

tion given in connection with Figures 5 and 16 It Willbe understood that during the movement of the clamp-carrying `element or chain. Mabout the .sprocket wheel Il and `the simultaneous rotation of the rotaryy element |3I with the sprocket wheel, alift element I9v will come in contaotrwith eachclamp|6 of. `the chain I4 so as to .liftthe latter toa position slightly abovethat shown in Figure 5, this lifting being controlled by the cam 20-which includes an upwardlyinclined portion with which the roller I=59fof a lift element will Contact .during rotation in the .direction of the arrow of Figure 6 and while the shoulders |6| of the lift velement are .beneathl-av 'clamp I6.

When the roller I59ymovesuponthe. rise-|66 .or

' cam 20, the shoulders |6I.'wil1 contact with the tioned in vertical alignment withv the clamp |6f,

the roller |59 will move ol the rise |66 and along the downwardly inclined `surface |61-.of cam 20 so that the clamp I6 .maydescendl to engage the top of the .hottle. The .clamp with. Ythe .bottle will then move in a straight'lne with clampcarrying element |4 and'supporting conveyer II while the lift element I9 will move in a rotary path and hence away from the clamp I6 as indi.- cated in Figure 6. Y f y' As best shown in Figure "I, each clamp I6 isso mounted upon the clamp-carrying element that itwill serve as ay pivot for two adjacent links of the chain. More particularly, chain I4 is primarily composed of links |10 connected by pins I1I The pin I1I at one side of a clamp I6 is provided with a pair of links |12 which are somewhat longer and larger than the links I 10 of the normal chain and pivotally extend about the cylindrical body element |13 of the clamp I6. The pin I1I at the opposite side of a clamp I6 carries similar links I12a which extend between the links |12 and also pivotally engage cylindrical element |13. Thus each element |13 serves as a pivot in the chain. A plate element |14 bears upon the uppermost link |12 and is welded to body element |13. A spacing collar |15 is provided between the links I12a;

The body elements |13 are of cylindrical form as stated above and the sprocket wheels I1 and 4 I8 are provided with recesses spaced along their teeth to receive the same. The wall of each body element |13 is thickened at its lower end to provide a, shoulder |16 to serve as a stop for a clamp sleeve |11 which is urged to a downward position by a coil spring |18.

As shown in Figure 10, each plate element |14 of a clamp I6 includes vertically extending tongues |19 which have-horizontally extending pins |80 (see also Figure 7) extending between them which serve as journals for rollers I8I which bear upon the underside of the top plate |20 so as to hold the chain I4 against lifting movement. The outer vertical tongue |19 includes an upper horizontal portion |82 which carries a block |83 to bear on the upper surface of top plate |20. so as to limit the downward movement of chain I4.

Figures 8 and 9 show the structure of the sprocket wheel I8 at the outfeed end of the apparatus as well as the elements associated therewith. This structure is identical with that illustrated in Figures 6 and '1 except that the liit elements I9a at the outfeed end are so arranged that the rollers `|59a which engage the outfeed cam 20a. are in advance of the clamp engaging recesses I60a. Cam 20a`is provided with an upwardly inclined portion Ia, which the rollers I59a engage after the shoulders I6 Ia are in alignment with a clamp IB, continued rotation of the sprocket Wheel I8 causing the roller I59a to move upon the rise IEBafto lift the clamp entirely out of engagement with the bottle or other article so that the latter may be moved from the supporting conveyer I I. The roller I59a then moves down the decline I61a and out of engagement with the clamp which is then free to descend. However, it will be understood that during the return movement of a clamp I6 along the outer side of top plate |20, it rwill be held in the proper horizontal position by its engagement with the top plate.

The structure shown in Figures 8 and 9 further differs from that of Figures 6 and 7 in that the rotary element or casting I3Ia at the outfeed end of the apparatus includes a key element which is secured to the rotary element and is key connection to shaft I I5 permits the entire top plate |20 together with all of the-elements supported thereby to be moved vertically with respect to the shaft II5 as well as the lower elements of the apparatus so that the machine may handle containers or other articles of l various heights.

The top plate I20and clamp-carrying chain I4 are vertically adjusted by means of the structure shown in Figures l0 and l1. Referring to these gures, it will be observed that vtop plate supporting posts I2I and |22 are mounted in bosses extending upwardly from the ltable 26 of the apparatus and that the lower portion of each post is provided with rack teeth |96 which are engaged by pinions |91 carried on a shaft |98 extending horizontally of table 26 and "between the bosses |95 as shown in Figure 2. The shaft |98 also carries a rWorin wheel |99 which engages a worm 200 carried by a transverse shaft 20|. The outer end ofthe shaft 20| is squared to receive an operating handle and serves to simultaneously raise both posts I2I and |22.V

It will be understood that containers may be moved from the supporting conveyerv II by an outfeed dial 32a and placed upon an outfeed conveyer |94 for removal from the apparatus.

The operation of the entire apparatus has been described in the opening portion of this description and the operation of the various elements has been set forth in connection with the description of the structure of such elements.

The terminology used in the specication is for 'the purpose of description and not Dflimitation,

the scope of the invention being indicated in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a conveyer structure, a base, an article supporting conveyer movable on said base, a pair of horizontally arranged rotary wheels journalled to be spaced above said conveyer, said wheels being horizontally spaced along said conveyer, an endless element movable about saidwheels, vertically movable article clamping members mounted on said endless element, a lever element pivoted on each of said wheels for vertical swinging movement with respect to the jlatter and adapted to engage said article clamping vmembers to control the vertical position of the latter, and means to control the vertical positions of said lever elements.

2. A conveyer structure of the character described in claim 1 wherein the means to control the vertical positions of said lever elements comprises a xed cam partially surrounding each of said wheels.

3. In a conveyer structure, a supporting conveyer, a pair of horizontally arranged and horizontally spaced rotary members positioned above said supporting conveyer, an endless element movable in a horizontal plane about said rotary members, plate elements carried on said endless element, article clamping members carried by each of said plate elements for vertical movement with respect to the latter and spring-urged l downwardly toward said conveyer, vertically movkeyed to the chain driving shaft IIE. Also,V the able members pivotally carried :by said rotary members and adapted to move upwardly to engage and lift said article clamping members, and a xed cam track adjacent eachy of said rotary members to control the vertical position of said vertically movable members.

4. In a conveyer structure, a supportingconveyer, a pair of horizontally arranged and horizontally spaced rotary members positioned above said supporting conveyer, an endless element movable in a horizontal plane about said rotary members, plate elements carried on said endless element, article clamping members carried by each of said plate elements for vertical movement with respect to the latter and spring-urged downwardly toward said conveyer, vertically movable members pivotally carried by said rotary members and adapted to move upwardly tc engage and lift said article clamping members, a xed cam track adjacent each of said rotary members to control the vertical position of said vertically movable members, and iixed means to hold said endless element in a horizontal plane.

5. In a conveyer structure, an article supporting conveyer, an endless element; spaced above said conveyer, article yclamping means spaced along said endless element and capable of limited movement toward and away from said con.

veyer, and means to control the position of said article clamping means comprising a rotatable member in operative engagement with said endless element, a lift member including' two legs carrie'd by said rotatable member, onen! the legs of said lift member being pivotally connected to said rotatable member to serve kas apivt for said lift member, and a fixed earn track adjacent l' said rotatable member adapted to be engaged =by 1 the other leg of said lift member, said last-men-L tioned leg being` provided withl meanstolengage said article clamping means to control the position of the latter with respect to said conveyer.

6. In a conveyer structure, a base, an article supporting conveyer movable on said base, ja pair of rotatable members journalled at points spaced along said conveyer, an endless element trained about said members and movable in a horizon-v article clamping devices mounted on said endless element, an element carried by and movable on eachof said rotatable members and adapted to engage said article clamping members to control the vertical position of the latter, and means to control the position of said last-named'elements.

tal plane above said conveyer, vertically movable PAUL R, POWELL. 

